Global semiconductor sales rose 5 percent in August from the previous month on higher demand across all regions for chips, which are used in devices from mobile phones to computers, the Semiconductor Industry Association said.
Total sales climbed to US$19.1 billion in August from US$18.2 billion in the previous month, the San Jose, California-based association said in a statement yesterday.
August chip sales fell 16 percent from a year earlier.
“Continuing recovery of consumer spending led the sixth consecutive month of sequential growth in semiconductor sales,” association president George Scalise said.
“Notwithstanding the slow recovery of demand from the enterprise sector, we are encouraged that industry momentum has turned positive following the steepest downturn in more than a decade,” he said.
Incentive programs to purchase energy-efficient products such as cars and home appliances helped chip sales, the association said.
Increasing sales of netbooks also “created an important new market segment,” Scalise said.
In June, the association forecast worldwide chip sales would fall 21 percent this year and predicted a rebound next year.
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